Brighton and Sussex hospitals pays £11.5m to disabled boy

Experts said if the boy had been delivered by Royal Sussex County Hospital midwives 11 minutes earlier he would been born unharmed

A five-year-old boy who suffered severe brain damage following complications during his birth has received £11.5m.

The High Court in London was told the boy, who cannot be identified, would have been born unharmed if he had been delivered 11 minutes earlier.

Midwives at the Royal Sussex County Hospital failed to notice a prolapsed cord during his birth in March 2010, leading to asphyxia and cerebral palsy.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals admitted liability in 2012.

The agreed £11.5m compensation settlement covers a lifetime of specialist care, a sum for lost earnings and £1m provision for potential future education costs.

'Devoted care'

Martin Forde QC, representing Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, which admitted liability in November 2012, acknowledged that money was no consolation.

He repeated the trust's apology and said the child had made "remarkable progress" due to the "utterly devoted care" he had received from his parents and wider family.

Jane Weakley, of lawyers Irwin Mitchell, said: "We are pleased that we secured this settlement for him and his family, they now have the financial security and reassurance that the costs for his future treatment will be met.

"We hope that lessons are learnt by the hospital and their staff so that patient safety in this situation can be improved and each and every patient receives the best quality of care at all times."